


Playing games it better than shopping

by RedRaidingHood



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Loveless-like AU, M/M, Tumblr Prompts, onesided Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-05 05:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1807846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRaidingHood/pseuds/RedRaidingHood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy and Nico are at the mall. Shopping for clothes. Nico obviously doesn’t like it, but at least there’s dinner afterwards with Tyson and Jason.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Playing games it better than shopping

**Author's Note:**

> a-crazy-shipper asked me to write something with Nico as a catboy on tumblr. My experience with those is pretty limited - limited to having watched Loveless a few years ago, so that's why this is a little Loveless-ish
> 
> For everyone who doesn’t know Loveless: People have cat/dog-ears and tails until they are adults (aka had sex)  
> \- other than that it's pretty much the usual highschool AU

Nico was glad they’d come to the mall early on a weekday. Percy had been thoughtful enough to choose a day where almost no one else was shopping; most of those annoying Barbie-girls were still in school or sleeping and mothers and fathers were working or going for groceries but not clothes. Still, there was this old granny who looked at him like she wanted to pinch his cheek and give him a cookie. Nico shuddered, his ears flat against his head.

Percy had taken off a day from school for this and Nico didn’t even want to think about the implications of the older doing something so considerate for him. The store was close to Percy’s home, where his girlfriend Annabeth was waiting; and while Nico had pretty much accepted them being in love forever, he couldn’t stop the fact that this felt somewhat like a date…

“Here we go!” Percy exclaimed, heaping another load of not-black, too-expensive clothing on his arms and nodding towards Nico. “Let’s try this one first,” he laughed. “I’ve seen the comic-shirts over there, but Hazel said you’d need plain clothing and not – and here I quote – ‘one of those lame superhero-ones’, because you apparently have enough of those. How come I’ve never seen you wearing anything else but skulls?”

Nico felt his tail swish against his legs and tried to consciously stop the nervous gesture. He wouldn’t tell _Percy_ about the Batman-boxers he was wearing right now. Or the Superman-shirt he stole from Jason’s wardrobe last month, or the Spiderman-pyjamas – but _those_ had been a present from Hazel so she had no right to complain about them.

Percy whistled at the price-tag of a shirt, but slung it over his arm anyway, already knowing not to expect an answer. Nico followed him grumpily. This wasn’t really going well for him. He had hoped being alone with Percy wouldn’t still hurt after all those years, but it did, and right now, all he wanted was to run back to Jason’s place, hide under his covers and wait for Jason to bring him a steaming hot cup of cocoa with a big heaping of whipped cream like he had done when the sight of both Percy and Annabeth without their ears and tails had been too much to bear. He hadn’t had anyone else but Jason at that time, and even Jason wouldn’t have really counted as a friend; rather just as the only one who’d known of Nico’s crush.

“Can’t we just go get some food?” Nico gave a last try to get out of this ridiculous situation. If it hadn’t been his sister Hazel who had asked him to get some new clothes, he would’ve just laughed at their face. He did have _plenty_ of clothes. Jason always gave him his old ones or mispurchases that were to small.

Percy just laughed. “Come on! A little change won’t hurt – and those clothes here will look really cute on you!” he winked. Why did he have to fucking wink? Why did Nico’s heart still skip a beat at the sight of Percy Jackson calling him cute and being a dork?

“I’m not _cute_ ,” Nico spat the word out as if it was something disgusting.

Percy grinned and shoved him toward the cubicles. “Yes, you are! Just look at those ears”

A cold lump formed in Nico’s throat and he had to suppress the urge to lash out. He didn’t exactly like ‘those ears’. No one took a small, wispy boy who still had his ears serious. He hated being laughed at when he was angry or belittled because he was scared; he didn’t want to show anyone those emotions for that exact reason. Nico had to take care of himself for years, since his mother and sister had died, and still no one thought him able to even go shopping for clothes on his own. “ _Kids_ are cute, Percy.” He grit his teeth.

Percy had moved them to a free cubicle and was now hanging clothes inside, not even looking at him. “Well, you still are one, Nico.”

That _hurt._ Coming from _Percy_ , the one person Nico had loved for quite some time now, the person whose respect Nico wanted more than anyone’s…

Nico stomped in the cubicle, roughly pushing Percy outside and closing the curtain between them. He didn’t even care for those stupid clothes or how they were supposed to meet up with Percy’s brother Tyson later. Nico liked Tyson well enough, but right now all he wanted was to scream, to hit something; he sat down heavily on the little bench and pulled on his cat-like ears, that were lying flat on his head, until it hurt. He really wanted them gone. He didn’t care about the actual act of getting rid of them rather than how others would treat him; how Percy would maybe see him as something more than a little brother, would see the boy that is capable of mature feelings, of anger and hurt and love.

Almost automatically, Nico took out his phone, skipping to Jason’s name. After promising the older to tell him whenever Nico felt overwhelmed, it had become a habit to text Jason in situations like those. Nico knew he should ask Percy about this, but than again, he was an adult and could make his own decisions, so Percy would just have to deal with it.

_P and I gonna meet up with tyson at the burger place in a few. Wanna come?_

He shoved the phone back in his jeans-pocket and stood up, not even waiting for a response. Percy was waiting outside and the faster he got this over, the faster he’d be out of this place, away from Percy Jackson.

Nico easily pulled his oversized hoodie off and eyed the clothes Percy had picked out for him; he admittedly _had_ a good eye for Nico’s size. The first piece of clothing was a dark-blue poloshirt Nico would’ve never chosen on his own. He pulled it over his head, not caring to open the buttons in front and promptly got his head stuck, his ears twitching against the soft material.

“You ready?” Percy asked. Knowing the other it was only luck that Percy hadn’t pulled the curtain open anyway.

“Just a second,” he called back fumbling with the buttons and finally pushing head and ears through the collar the moment Percy shoved the cloth aside. Nico blushed and his treacherous heart skipped a beat. Pulling the shirt down over his exposed stomach as fast as he could, he turned to his friend, still feeling the butterflies in his stomach that made him want to swallow insecticide.

The frown Percy wore made the situation even worse; Nico felt as if he had done something wrong, his tail anxiously tucked between his legs, but Percy only shook his head. “Nope sorry, better try this one,” he said and moved to reach behind Nico, getting to the clothes that hung in the narrow cubicle. Nico could smell his aftershave this close, he could see the muscles flexing under Percy’s shirt and practically hear the beating of his own heart. Cold sweat crept down his back, relief only flooding his chest when Percy backed off, handing him another hanger with some piece of clothing.

Nico knew his face was red and his ears and tail betraying his emotions for everyone to see, but stupid Percy Jackson kept being oblivious. He just couldn’t see Nico’s feelings, couldn’t fathom his ‘little brother’ feeling anything but innocent, brotherly emotions. Nico turned and changed clothes again.

“You know, about your ears,” Percy began, startling Nico mid-change “maybe I could help you with that.”

Nico swivelled sharply the fur on his tail standing on end “What?” he exclaimed. Had Percy really just implied what Nico thought he did? In a cramped, stuffy cubicle at the mall where no one noticed them? ‘Helping’ with his ears could only mean… one thing, could it?

Nico’s heart was racing, he had pushed every last bit of hope he had had down until he thought it would just shrivel and die over time, but now it came back full force; his hands got sweaty, his knees almost crumbled and he had to lean back against the cubicle’s mirror. Percy had never even looked at him _that way_ , had he?

“There’s this girl, Shiela, and she-”

_Of course._ Nico deflated. He felt so crushed, no longer sure he’d actually be able to stand were it not for the cold mirror against his back. He had worked so hard to forget what he felt for Percy, had really thought he had won and accepted not being the person Percy looked at, but just those few words had been enough to disillusion him in seconds.

“No. No, it’s alright,” he pressed out, not even knowing it was him uttering these words until they left his mouth. Nico grabbed his hoodie from the bench, wrenching the shirt from his body in the same motion. Percy seemed a little startled but followed him nevertheless when he rushed out of the changing room.

Half-heartily, Nico looked back and nodded towards the exit. “Let’s just forget all this and get something to eat. Tyson is surely waiting already.”

Percy nodded. “Listen, if it was something I said-”

“Just forget it.” He tried smiling and his friend seemed to appreciate the gesture. Nico laughed a little, his ears swivelling back and forth. “I’m just really not in the mood for clothes-shopping.”

Percy was a good friend. Whatever one could say about him, how oblivious he was towards Nico or how blunt he could be, he was the most loyal and tolerant person Nico knew and he was glad Percy was a friend that would let you run out of a shop without insisting upon a explanation and making a scene. Still he looked a little like a kicked puppy.

When they arrived at their usual burger place, Tyson was actually waiting for them already. He stood up to greet them, his dog-like tail wagging happily. Nico smiled and let the big guy hug and lift him up a little without a word. Tyson’s happiness was always kind of contagious and right now, a little second-hand-happiness was pretty much what Nico needed.

“So, have you found anything new to wear?” he was asked when they sat down, Percy and Tyson on one side of the table, Nico on the other. He decided to ignore Percy for a while and direct his attention to Percy’s brother.

“Not really. How about you, how are you doing?”

Tyson grinned and blushed a little, his big hands playing with a glass of soda in front of him. Nico knew he was thinking of Ella, a slight redhead Tyson had a crush on. Before he could encourage the bigger further on, Tyson closed one eye, rubbed the lid that hid the glass eye he was so self-conscious about and looked at Nico with the other. It was pretty creepy, but Nico _liked_ creepy. His ears bend forward and arms crossed on the table, he looked back unperturbed.

“I asked Ella to come to the park with me tomorrow,” he told Nico. Tyson was walking dogs to earn a little pocket-money. Nico knew just from his behaviour already that Ella’s answer had been a positive one, but he still nodded in order for Tyson to continue. “She said yes!” the boy finally exclaimed, his tail audibly wagging against the cheap leather of the couch.

“Congratulations, big guy!” Percy was hitting his brother lightly on the shoulder, the grin fast fading from Nico’s face. He had almost forgotten Percy was with them. As happy as he was for Tyson, his own trouble with Percy didn’t just dissolve.

He was lucky though, because Jason chose just that moment to practically throw himself on the couch beside Nico, almost crushing him in the process and giving Percy an evil look.

“How’s it going?”

“Hello to you too, Jason,” Percy shot back, not really knowing what had prompted Jason’s aggressive behaviour – or even his appearance at that.

“Hey Jason!” Tyson said untroubled. “Ella is going dog-walking with me tomorrow.”

Nico always found it intriguing to watch people's reactions around Tyson. He wasn’t disappointed this time either: Jason’s frown almost immediately morphed to a look of happiness.

“Seriously? That’s so cool!”

Alas, Percy seemed to remember their earlier flight from the mall and fixed Nico with a stare. “So what's with you and your ears?” Nico could’ve screamed. Why did he choose this moment to demand an explanation? He didn’t even question Jason coming here, but got right to the point Nico didn’t _ever_ want to get to. “You wanna get rid of them, or what?”

Nico blushed hard and slouched in his seat. Grabbing his tail he busied himself with fidgeting rather than looking any of the three others in the eye. Percy couldn’t have been more blunt had he asked how desperate for sex Nico was.

“That’s not-,” Nico eventually started, but Jason threw his arm around him, put a hand on his head and tugged on one of his ears.

“I like them.” Almost automatically Nico hissed and shrugged Jason’s hand off, but the other kept on speaking, resting his arm on the back of the couch behind Nico, his gaze fixed on Percy. “And it’s not like he’s gonna be another person without them.”

Nico had never seen Jason’s ears and tail, and they had never talked about it; Nico had always thought of Jason as an adult anyway, as he was carrying himself with an air of authority none of the other kids at school did – with or without ears.

Of course, Jason had already figured out what all this was about. He had known of Nico and Percy looking for clothes together and he had known of Nico’s feelings all along. He didn’t need an explanation for Nico’s text earlier, as well as he didn’t need anyone to tell him how Nico felt when his crush talked about Nico losing his ears as if it was something you just did; like getting a piercing or something.

Nico was still glad Jason didn’t outright white-knight him and the conversation soon went back to Tyson’s date with Ella. It was nice to be able to rely on Jason like that. Not needing to explain or ask anything of him, and still not being patronized either. Nico believed Jason when he said he wouldn’t treat Nico any other way than before, were he to lose his ears. The unconditional respect Jason had for him always melted Nico’s heart a little and when he felt Jason’s hand on his neck, gently massaging and kneading tense muscles, he let him.

Nico’s eyes closed and his tail stilled. Happily, he leaned into the touch and purred lowly, not wanting anyone to hear but not wanting Jason to stop either.

Suddenly he felt Jason’s breath against his ear and his eyes shot open, both, Percy and Tyson, giving them strange looks. “Wanna go play Watchdogs at my place after this?”

Nico’s gaze moved from their friends opposite them to the friend next to him. Jason just smiled and winked. Nico’s heart skipped a beat. Jason was close and warm and Nico was definitely still purring and he felt something he normally associated with Percy, but this time it didn’t hurt.

It felt like an hour, but he probably wasn’t staring for too long – at least not much too long, since Percy and Tyson only giggled and didn’t yet look at him concerned for his mental health.

“Yes!” he finally answered a little louder than intended, and he really hoped the others couldn’t hear the rumbling undertone of the purr still audible in his voice.

Jason grinned winningly and ruffled his hair. “That’s great!”

Nico didn’t get much of anything they talked about afterwards. He didn’t get what had just happened either, but he really looked forward to going to Jason's place later. Not because Jason apparently made it his goal to make Nico purr every time they met, and certainly not because Jason made him feel good and wanted and didn’t look at him like he’d look at a kid.

Neither did he look forward to later because the shirt he stole from Jason was really comfortable and he never actually missed Percy when Jason was with him; no, he _obviously_ looked forward to playing Watchdogs, like he had for quite some time now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to comment and/or criticize <3


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